Baling mechanism.



0. KLUGE.

BALING MEGHANISM.

APPLIUATION FILED JULY 10,1912.

Patented May 2o, 1913.

6 SHEETS-SHEHT 1.

Attorneys.;

NNW

lnventog- *I 0. KLUGE.

BALING MECHANISM.

uPLIoATIoN FILED JULY 10.1912.

1,062,243. Patenamay 2o, 1913.

5 SHBETB-SHEET 2.

/l I u Attorneys.

0. KLUGB.

BALING MEGHANISM. APPLIOATION FILED 1111310.11112.

1,062,243. Patented may 20, 1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Witnesses l Inventor,

o. KLUGE. BALING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 10,41912.

1,062,243. l Y Patented Mayen, 1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

r l Attorneys O. KLUGE.'

BALING- MBGHANISM.

APPLIUATION FILED JULY 10,1912.

1,062,243. A Patented May 20, 1913.

6 SHEETSFSHEET 5.

Attorneyg.

FFICE.

OTTO KL'UGE, OF GOLCONDA, ILLINOIS.

BALING MEGHANISM.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, Orro KLUGE, a citizen of the United States, residingat Golconda, in the county of Pope and State of Illinois, have inventeda new and useful Baling Mechanism, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to mechanism particularly designed for balingstraw and other waste material discharged' from machines such as used inthreshing peas, wheat, etc.

One of the objects ofthe invention is to provide baling meansconstituting an integral part of the threshing machine and which isdesigned to operate continuously during the threshing operation and tobale the material as fast as it is discharged from the thresher.

Another object is to provide improved means operable independently ofthe plunger or follower of the baler whereby the bales are tiedautomatically upon attaining a predetermined size.

Another object is to provide bale binding and tying mechanism which `iscomparatively simple in construction and the parts of which are readilyaccessible for the purpose of repairing or cleaning them.

With the foregoing and other objects in View which will appear' as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of .parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, Vit being understood that'changes in the preciseembodiment of the inventionherein disclosed can be made within the scopeof what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of one end portion of athreshing machine having the present improvements combined therewith.Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is aVertical longitudinali section through the baling mechanism, a portionof the thresher being shown in elevation. Fig. 4 is a view partly infront elevation and partly in section ofthe head tying means. Fig. 5 isan enlarged view partly in elevation and partly in section of themechanism utilized for fastening together the ends of two ties. Fig. 6is a plan view of the tying mecha- Specioation of Letters Patent.

Application led .T uly 10, 1912. Serial No. 708,724.

Patented May 20, 1913.

nism, a portion of the needle being shown 1n position. Fig. 7 is ahorizontal section through said mechanism, said section being taken onthe line A-B Fig. 5. `Fig..8 is a 'detail view of the twister, its shaftbeing shown in section. Fig. 9 is an elevation of the stationarygripping member, the cutting blade being 'shown thereon. Fig. v10 -is aside elevation of the movable gripping member. Fig. 11 is a sectionthrough the xed gripping member, said section b'eing taken on the vgripping member being also shown in section. Fig. 12 is a side elevationofthe loop spreading member. Fig. 13 is anenlarged section on line E-FFig. l1 and showing the clutch mechanism.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates aportion of a threshing machine having an outlet casing or extension 2 towhich a straw stacker is ordinarily connected. In the present instance,however, the stacker is dispensed with and in lieu thereof is provided adownwardly inclined casing 3 opening into the top of the baling chamber4 of a press box 5. This press box is connected to the casing 1 so as toconstitute practically yan integral part thereof,the connections beingindicated at 6. In all ordinary respectsthe box 5 is similar to the'ordinary baling box and, as

shown in the drawings, there are provided on the top and bottom of thebox and close to the inlet 7 thereof, spring pressed `dogs 8 designed toengage the compressed material in the box so as to preventexpansionthereof back toward the inlet. Y

A drive shaft 9 is carried by the thresher, said shaft being preferablyjournaled in boxes 10 supported by the upper connections 6. Thisshaftvhas a pulley 11 thereon receiving motion, as through a belt 12from any suitable source of power and another pulley 13 is secured tothe shaft 9 and is adapted to transmit motion, thro-ugh a cross belt 14or the like, to a pulley 15 secured to a transverse shaft 16 which isjournaled on top of the casing 2. A bevel gear 17 is secured to theshaft 16 and meshes with another bevel gear 18 securedto the upper endof an inclined shaft 19 which extends downwardly along the longitudinalcenter of the casing 3 and has a feed worm 20 secured to it, the lowerend of the shaft being journaled preferably in a bracket 21 supportedwithin line C-D Fig. 9, and the movable for binding the bales.

the lower portion of the feed casing 3. Thus it will be seen that,during the actuation of the shaft 9,motion will be transmittedtherefromv to the inclinedshaft 19 and the feed screw 20 Vwill beoperated to direct material positively from the casing2 and downwardlythrough the feed casing 3 into the baling chamber 4. A baling head o rfollower 22 is mounted to reciprocate withinlthe box 5 and is connected,by means of a pitman 23, to a crank 24 secured to a shaft 25 which isjournaled between the connections 6 and below the shaft 9. A large gear26 is secured to the shaft 25 and meshes with a small gear 27 secured tothe shaft 9. Thus it will be seen that shaft 25 will be caused to rotateslowlyand will, during such rotation, reciprocate the head or follower22. This follower is preferably formed with upper and lower rearwardlyextending wings 2S the lower one of which has anti-friction rollers 29adapted to bear upon the bottom of the press box. Thus friction will bereduced to the minimum during the reciprocation of the follower. Thesizeof the crank 24 is such `as to give a stroke to the head orfollower22 sufficient to cause it to pass completely across the inlet 7, theupper wing 28 during this movement, serving to close this inlet and thusto prevent material from entering the press box and back of thefollower. c

Any desired number of ties may be used The mechanism shown in theaccompanying drawingsprovides for two of the ties. For this reason twoneedle receiving openings 30 are formed ink each'side wall of the box 5and below that portion of the inlet 7 nearest the dogs 8. Acorresponding number of needle receiving grooves 3l are 'formedwithinthe Working face of the follower 22, these grooves, as shown bydottedlinesin F ig. 3, gradually increasing in depth toward that sideof thepress box from which the binding needle, hereinafter described, normallyextends. A shaft 32 extends transversely under the press box 5 and has agear 33 se! cured thereto and meshing with another gear 34 arrangedunder thepress box 5. A crank arm 35 rotates with the gear 34 and isconnected, by a pitman 36, to another crank arm 37 extending radiallyfrom the lower end of a needle shaft 38. This needle shaft is journaledon one side of the press box and is arranged perpendicular tothe bottomof the'box, there being a needle 39 of the usual type connected to theupper end of the shaft 38 and provided, at its free end, with an eye 40,said endportion being bowed as shown at 41. V'The normal position of theneedle has been illustrated in Fig. l, the free end thereof beingarranged beyond the side wall of the press box 5 but in position to passreadily throughone of the needle, receiving openings 30. It is of courset'o be understood that in the present machine two needles 39 are used,one being 4arranged directly above the other. The eye of each needle,when in normal position, is disposed in front of a tubular guide 42through which the tie Wire X extends from a reel Y which is mounted forrotation on a stud 43 ext-ending from the side of the press box.

A sprocket 44 is loosely mounted for rotation onshaft 32 and receivesmotion, through a chain 45, from a sprocket 46 secured to the shaft 25.This chain may be provided with a tightener such as shown at 47 andwhich is provided with an idler 48 bearing on the chain. Lugs 49 extendinwardly from the sprocket 44 at diametrically opposed points and aredirected toward a disk 50 which is ixedly mounted on the shaft 32. Aclutch member 5l is pivotally mounted, as at 52,

upon one face of the-disk 50 and has a finger 53 extending outwardlyfrom its free end, there being a laterally extending pin 54 upon theclutch member and which is adapted, under the action of a spring 55, tomove inwardly toward the shaft 32 and into the path of one of the pins49, thus to couple the disk 50 to the sprocket 44. The coupling member51, however, during most of the time, is held` with the pin 54 out ofthe path of the lugs 49, by a lever 56 fulcrumed as at 57 upon one sideof the box 5 and connected', by means of a rod 58, to a crank arm 59extending from one end of a shaft 60. This shaft is journaled on the topof t-he press box and has a linger 61 extending therefrom and into thepath of a tappet 62 projecting laterally from one face of a controllingdisk 63. This disk has radially extending pins or teeth 64 upon itsperiphery and the lower portion of the disk and the lowermost pins areadapted to extend through a slot 65 formed in the top of the press box5. The pins 64 are thus supported in position where they will be engagedby the material being compressed within the machine.

A spring 66 may be mounted on the rod 58 for the purpose ofY holdinglever 56 and the finger 6l normally in the positions shown in Figs.2'and 13.

For the purpose of fastening together the ends of each tie, tyingmechanism of novel form has been provided. As, inthe present machine,two ties are provided for, it is.

to be understood that the means for fastening together the ends of eachtie are similar and that they operate in unison. The shaft 32 has asprocket 66 secured to it and this sprocket transmits motion through achain 67, to a sprocket 68 to one side of which is lsecured a gear 69and a larger mutilated gear 70. The gears 69 of the two tying mechanismsare arranged one above the other and an intermediate gear 7l meshestherewith and `operates to transmit motion from one gear 69 tthe other.Each of the mutilated ears 7U has teeth outstanding therefrom t roughone half the circumference thereof and formed in the back face of eachmutilated gear is a cam groove 72 shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4. Aportion of this cam roove is concentric with the smooth perip ery of themutilated gear 70, said concentric portion extending through about 180degrees. Said groove is then curved outwardly, at one end of said concentric ,portion so as to form a knob-like protuberance 73 upon theinner wall of the groove. The remaining portion of the groove isconcentric with the toothed periphery of the mutilated gear and is moreremote from the center of the gear than is the concentric portion 72,this outermost concentric portion being indicated at 74. A lever 75 ispivotally mounted back of the mutilated gear and has a roller 76 whichprojects into the groove 72. A pawl 77 is pivotally connected to thefree end of the lever and a spring 78 serves to hold the free end of thepawl normally pressed into engagement with a ratchet wheel 79. Thisratchet wheel is keyed or otherwise secured to a ,sleeve 80 mounted forrotation within a bearing member 81 having an outstanding tubular boss82 against the end of which the ratchet wheel 79 bears. A disk 83 isformed integral with the sleeve 80 at that' end thereof nearest thepress box 5 and has a series of preferably six peripheral notches 84, asshown particularly in Fig. 10, this notched disk constituting themovable gripping member of the tying mechanism. The bearing 81 has arounded portion concentric with the sleeve 80. Within this roundedportion and in the same plane with the pat-h of movement of the needle39 is an L-shaped slot 85 the inner portion of which extends downwardly,as shown at 86. One of the notches 84 normally registers with the slot85 so that a tie can be inserted freely into the two registeringnotches. The slotted portion of the bearing member 81 thus constitutesthe fixed tie holding member, as will be hereinafter set forth.

A stem 87 is mounted for rotation within the sleeve 80 and is provided,at one end, with a gear 88 adapted to mesh with and to be actuated bythe mutilated gear 70. The other end of the stem 87 has a twisting disk89 formed integral therewith or secured thereto, said disk, as shown inFig. 8, being provided,-"with a bill -90 and with a radial slot 91extending from the front or active edge of the bill inwardly to thecenter of the twisting disk. A ring 92 is mounted for rotation on theboss 82 and is held against lateral displacement by the ratchet wheel 79and the bearing 81, this ring being provided with an outstanding orsubstantially radial arm 93 to the outer end of which is secured anarcuate spreading plate 94 which fits close against the rounded sur faceof the bearing member 8l and is normally supported above the path of theneedle 39, as shown particularly in Fig. 4. A link 95 connects the arm93 to the free end of lever 75. The inner face of the spreading plate 94or, in other words, that face thereof nearest the rounded surface of thebearing member 81, is cut away longitudinally, as shown at 96, so as topermit the bill of the twister89 to work freely back of the spreadingplate 94. Secured to that side of the bearing member 81 nearest themovable holding disk 83, is a shearing blade 97, this blade beingdesigned to coperate with one wall of each of the notches 84, for thepurpose of severing the tie at the proper time during the operation ofthe machine.

It is to be understood that during the operation of the machine theshafts 25 and 19, and the sprocket 44 constantly rotate. During thepressing operation the straw or other material ordinarily dischargedinto the stacker, is directed into the feed casing 3 and the rotatingworm or screw 20 forces it downwardly through the inlet 7 and into thepath of or onto the upper wing 28 of the follower 22. This follower,obviously, reciprocates continuously during the rotation of shaft 25 andthe material deposited in the path thereof is pressed into the box`5toward the outlet end thereof. The tie Wires, prior to the feeding ofmaterial into the box, are each arranged with one end pinched betweenthe adjoining faces of the members 8l and 83, said tie being extendedthrough the corresponding needle receiving openings 30, through the eyeof the needle, and thence through the guides 42 to the reel Y. It willbe apparent, therefore, that as the material is pressed into the box 5by the follower 22, said material will push against those portions ofthe tie wires extending transversely of the box and will gradually causethe wires to pull through the eyes of the needles and oft1 of the reels.As the material is gradually packed and pushed toward the outlet of thebox 5, it engages the pins 64 on disk 63 and causes said disk to rotateslowly, the material being held under pressure by the dogs 8 while thefollower is moving back toward the shaft 25. The disk 63 is soproportioned that when. the bale has reached desired proportions. saiddisk will complete a rotation. thereby causing the tappet 62 to strikefinger 61 and press it downwardly. Rod 58 will therefore pull upwardlyon lever 56 and cause the free end of the lever to shift out of the pathof the clutch member 51. Spring 55 will promptly shift said clutchmember toward the shaft 32 and bring the pin or projection 54 into thepath of one of the lugs 49. Disk 50 will therefore be coupled to thesprocket 44 which continuously rotates and will move with said sprocketuntil the disk has completed one rotation. This one rotation will besuicient to bring the projecting finger 53 of the clutch member 51against the free end of lever 56 which has, in the meanwhile, beenshifted back to normal position by the spring 66. When linger 53 eneageslever 56, the clutch member 51 is shifted outwardly so as to bring theprojection 54 'out of the path of the studs`49, thereby uncoupling disk50 from the sprocket 44v and bringing the disk 50 to a stop. This onerotation of disk 50, however,` will be sufficient to operatethe needleand the tying mechanism as follows Shaft 32 rotates with the disk 50 andas this shaft has gear 33 secured to it,it will be seen that motion willbe transmitted through crank arms 35 and 37 and pitman 36 to the needleshaft 38. Each needley will thus be swung through the openings in thepath thereof so as thus to bring the tie wire acrossl that face of thebale nearest the follower,22. This movement of lthe needle will not beinterfered with bythe follower for the reason that said follower has agroove 31 therein of suiicient size tol receive the needle should it benecessary for thek needle to move across the bale while the follower isclose to or in contact with the bale. During this movement of the needletoward the tying mechanism, the sprocket 66', which also rotates withshaft 32, is driving the chain 67, sprocket 68 and gears 69 and`71. Themutilated gears 7 0 are also being turned but during the irst half ofthe rotation of each of these mutilated gears, and at which time theneedle is moving toward the tying mechanism, said gears have no effect.for

the reason that the smooth portions of their peripheries are .adjacentthe gears 88. At the same time the roller 76 of each lever is withinthat portion of the cam groove 72 concentric with the smooth peripheryof the mutilated gear and the lever 75 will thus be shifted. The partsare so timed that, as soon as the needle reaches the limit of itsmovement toward the tying mechanism the knob 73 formed by one wall ofthe cam groove 72 engagesthe roller 76 and causes said lever 75 to shiftlaterally with a quick movement, thereby causing' the pawl 77 to give 'aslight turn to the ratchet wheel 79. As the movable holding member 83-rotates w-ith this ratchet wheel it will be seen that one strand of thewire X, which has been guided into the slot 85 and the notch 84.

registering therewith, will be forced downwardly into the extension 86,by the rotating member 88, thus securely fastening the tie wire X to thegripping members'81 and 83. Thus as the needle moves back to its'initial position the wire will be heldin engagement with the holdingmembers 81 and 83.

Simultaneously with the initial shifting of themovable gripping member,in the manner described, the toothed portlon o f the gear moves intoengagement with link 95 and causes the spreading plate 94v to passbetween the two strands of the tiel wire and thus prevent the bill 90fromV engaging both strands.

sufficient distance to carry the engaged strand of the tie wire againstthe shearing blade 97 where the wire is Isevered, one end remainingloose within the notch 84 while the other end remains clamped betweenthe two faces of the members 83 and 81. While this' operation is takingplace the gear 88 has been rapidly rotating so as to twist to' getherthe end ofthe tie wire previously held and that end subsequently fedinto the slot 85. Upon the completion of one-half revolution of themutilated gear 70, the spreading plate 94 moves back to its initialposition and that endfof the tie wire which was left clamped between themembers 81 and 83 becomes seated within the notch 84. The bill 90 of thetwisting disk 89 also assumes its initial position and, as the needlehas already moved back to its initial position beyond one side of thepress box` it will be apparent that the mechanism is thus reset for arepetition of the foregoing operation.

Importance is attached to the fact that' `the follower 22 is notladapted to reciprocate in timed relation with the binding and tyingmechanism but is entirely independent thereof and is used solely for thepurpose of compressing the material into bales. It is immaterial in sofar as the binding and tying mechanism is concerned, what may be'theposition of the follower at the instant that the binding and tyingoperation is completed.

lVhile the mechanism herein described is particularly designed as a partof a threshing machine, it is to be understood that the baling mechanismcan be used separately and in such case the power may be taken from asuitable motor provided solely for that purpose.

The press boX 5 and the parts carried thereby can be hingedly connectedto the frame or to the extension 2 of the threshing machine so that,when the machine is turning, the baling` mechanism will be free to swinglaterally. Any suitable mechanism may be provided for this purpose Pawl77 also engages and rotates the ratchet wheel 79 a across the box,normally registering fixed and movable holding membersfor the receptionof said tie, means for actuating the movable member to engage one strandof the tie during the return movement of the needle, means for twistingthe meeting por-4 tions of the tie, means for severing said twistedportion from the unused portion of the tie, and means under the controlof the compressed material for actuating the needle, the movable holdingmember,`the twisting means, and the severing means in properlyV timedrelation.

:2. The combination with a press box and a follower therein, of a fixedand a movable holding member, said member normally registering, a needlemovable between the follower and the compressed material to convey a tieto the holding members, means for automatically shifting the movableholding member to engage one strand of the tie upon the completion ofthe movement of the needle toward the holding members, means forautomatically spreading apart the strands of the tie during the returnof the needle to normal position, andl means for automatically engagingand twisting said strands together.

3. The combination with a press box and a follower therein, of a fixedand a movable holding member, said members normally registering, aneedle movable between the follower and the compressed material toconvey a tie to the holding members, means for automatically shiftingthe movable holding member to engage one strand of the tie upon thecompletion of the movement of the needle toward the holding members,means for automatically spreading apart the strands of the tie duringthe return of the needle to normal position, means for automaticallyengaging and twisting said strands together, and means under the controlof the'material being pressed for actuating the movable holding member,the spreading means and the twisting means and the needle in properlytimed relation.

4. The combination with avpress box and a follower therein, of a fixedand a movable holding` member, said members normally registering, aneedle movable between the follower and the compressed material toconvey a tie to the holding members, means for automatically shiftingthe movable holding member to engage one strand of the tie upon thecompletion of the movement of the needle toward the holding members,means for automatically spreading apart the strands of the tie duringthe return of the needle to normal position, means for automatica'llyengaging and twisting said strands together, a cutting element, andmeans for actuating the' movable holding member tosever the twistedportion of the tie from the unused portion and to bind the end of theunused portion ofthe tie between tlie fixed and the movable holdingmembers. y

5. The combination with a press box and a follower therein, of a fixedand a movable holding member, said members normally registering, aneedle movable between the follower and the compressed material toconvey a tie to the holding members, means for automatically shiftingthe movable holding member to engage one strand of the` tie upon thecompletion of the movement of the needle toward' the holding members,means for automatically spreading apart the strands of the tie duringthe return of the needle to normal position, means for automaticallyengagingA and twisting said strands together, a cutting element, meansfor actuating the movable holding member to sever the twisted portion ofthe tie from the unused portion and to bind the end of the unusedportion of the tie between the fixed and the movable holding members,and means under the control of the material being pressed, for operatingthe holding, twisting and severing mechanism in properly timed relation.

6. In a baling press the combination with a press box, a follower, and aneedle mounted to travel between the follower and the compressedmaterial to convey a tie between the follower and the material, of afixedand a movable holding member having registering notches for thereception of one strand of the tie, a revoluble cam, means actuatedthereby for shifting` the movable holding member successively to firstsecure the tie within the fixed holding member and subsequently pinch itbetween the movable and fixed members, a slotted twisting vdisk having abill extending therefrom for engaging the tie, a gear revoluble with thetwisting disk, a mutilated gear movable with the cam for rotating thefirst named gear and the twisting disk during a portion of the rotationof the cam, and means operated by said cam for shifting one strand ofthe tie out of the path of the bill of the twister.

7. In a baling press, the combination with a press box, a follower, anda needle mounted to travel between the follower and the compressedmaterial to convey a tie between the follower and the material, of afixed and a movable holding member having registering notches for thereception of one strand of the tie, a -revoluble cam,

'first secure the tie within the xed holding member and subsequentlypinch it between the movable and fixed members, a slotted twisting diskhaving a bill extending there-v from for engaging the tie, agear-.revoluble with the twisting disk, a mutilated gear movable withthe cam for rotating the rst named gear and the twisting disk during aportion ofthe rotation of the cam, means operated by said cam forshifting one strand unused portion of the 1- tie pinched vbetween v theholding members.

In testimony7 that VI claim the foregoing-as y, .i mylown, I have heretoaiixed my signature 20 *l in the presence of'two witnesses. v i 'y v .iOTTO KLUGE. Witnesses: l

THOS. H. CL. AvDAISY V. M0901.4

